Polk Audio Command Bar

INEXPENSIVE AND VERY SMART — BUT DOES IT COMPROMISE TOO MUCH ON SOUND QUALITY?

HOME AUDIO IS getting smarter. Companies like Sonos are transforming the way we listen to music in the home with multi-room speakers like the Sonos One, and home theatre companies are making their products smarter with digital assistants and intelligent audio tech like Dolby Atmos.

One company that quickly adopted the smart home theatre trend is Polk Audio, with products the Polk Audio Command Bar, reviewed here.

As you might be able to tell based on the soundbar’s design, the Command Bar comes with Alexa built right into it making it unquestionably smart. It’s also relatively inexpensive too, coming in at $649, and it comes with a subwoofer. But with all those features, does it compromise on sound quality? We put the Polk Audio Command Bar to the test to find out.

DESIGN

The Polk Audio Command Bar looks largely like any other soundbar: it’s a long, black, unassuming speaker. That said, there are a few things about it that we quite like — such as the material finish around the majority of the soundbar that gives it a slightly more homely feel.

One of the more interesting design choices Polk made, however, is that the device isn’t uniform — it bulbs out in the middle. That means it’s not as minimalist as some other soundbars, but in general it looks good.

Of course, the crown jewel of the Command Bar is what you’ll find in the middle of it: a ring of blue light that serves as the nexus to Alexa. Given the volume controls and microphone management buttons, it almost looks as though Polk Audio has simply cut out a circle to place an Amazon Echo Dot. Like the Dot, the light turns blue when Alexa is activated, and it

doubles as a way to tell how loud your audio is when you’re adjusting the volume. Overall, it’s more intrusive than when the white lights illuminate on a JBL Link series speaker, but it still looks perfectly fine, especially given the fact that the lights aren’t always active anyways.

On the back of the soundbar, you’ll get two HDMI inputs and a HDMI-ARC output — though if you have more than two video sources you want to work with, you can also just use the optical port for audio from your TV. If you stick to the HDMI ports, though, you can use Alexa to switch between HDMI sources — which can be handy when you don’t have the remote nearby.

The accompanying subwoofer is around 14.5 inches deep and tall, and around 7.5 inches wide. It’s not huge but it is something

AS YOU MIGHT BE ABLE TO TELL BASED ON THE SOUNDBAR’S DESIGN, THE COMMAND BAR COMES WITH ALEXA BUILT RIGHT INTO IT MAKING IT UNQUESTIONABLY SMART

THE ACCOMPANYING SUBWOOFER IS AROUND 14.5 INCHES DEEP AND TALL, AND AROUND 7.5 INCHES WIDE. IT’S NOT HUGE BUT IT IS SOMETHING YOU’LL NEED TO FIND A SPOT FOR.

you’ll need to find a spot for.

Activating Alexa from the remote also turns down whatever’s playing so that Alexa can hear you, which is a nice touch considering the fact that Alexa isn’t great at listening when something is playing in the background. Under that, you can switch between HDMI 1 and HDMI 2, and buttons to control TV source and activate Bluetooth. Then, there are volume controls, with separate controls for ‘voice’, or the centre channel, and for the bass response, then buttons to activate Movie, Sport, and Music modes, and playback controls.

Setting up the system is extremely easy: simply plug the soundbar and subwoofer into a power outlet, and they should sync up. You’ll need to download the Polk Connect app and follow the on-screen instructions, then sign in to your Amazon account to enable Alexa. You’ll also want to make sure to connect the HDMI ARC connection is plugged into the HDMI ARC port on your TV, if you have one, and if not, you’ll use the optical port to send audio from your TV back to your soundbar.

FEATURES

The smart features on offer by the Command Bar are pretty straightforward: you’ll get Alexa built into the soundbar, which you can use the same way you would any other Alexa device to control smart home devices and ask questions. You can also use Alexa here to switch between inputs and control the volume of your TV, which is a nice touch.

As you would expect from a soundbar in this price range, the audio features aren’t ultra far-reaching, but they’re not bad. The speaker boasts 2.1 channels of audio, and, at least according to Polk, has a frequency response of 40Hz - 22kHz. In total, you’ll get 260 watts between the subwoofer and the soundbar, which is on the low end of power compared to other soundbars, but more than enough for the vast majority of home situations. I/O-wise, the HDMI connectors support HDMI 2.0a, which itself supports 4K HDR video.

PERFORMANCE

That said, what really matters is how the Polk Audio Command Bar sounds — and thankfully, while it’s not incredible, it sounds fine for a device in this price range.

Let’s start with the bass which, thanks to the included subwoofer, is probably the best frequency range on offer by this soundbar. Not only is bass response present and generally powerful, but it can also be adjusted thanks to the bass controls on the remote.

The mid-range is decently well-tuned, but as you might expect from a soundbar at this price, the sound can emphasise the high mids a little. It’s not a huge issue, and the soundbar still sounds worlds better than the speakers built into your TV.

High-end is perhaps where the soundbar suffers the most, but we found that the high-end was still pretty responsive, clear, and detailed. Sure, it doesn’t extend as high as you’ll get from more expensive systems, and there’s a certain sparkle that isn’t there as much, but the high-end is generally still quite present.

VERDICT

If you’re in the market for the best smart soundbar money can buy, and you have money to spend, get the Sonos Beam. It’s a little sleeker, will eventually get Google Assistant, and sounds slightly better — though you don’t get a subwoofer and as such the bass response is a little less powerful.

That said, the Polk Audio Command Bar still has a ton going for it. For example, it’s quite a bit cheaper than the Sonos and it has defined and powerful low end, some cool smart features, and looks pretty good, too.